scalia >> ambassador to the u.s. delivers events at in washington, d.c. live coverage now. >> to provide our distinguished guest an opportunity, all of you, after this presentation by the ambassador, facilitated by the distinguished ambassador ron newman, to ask questions. please listen carefully. to listen doesn't mean to hear. we have an opportunity tonight to listen to and hear from two experts representing a region of

the world, afghanistan, a sovereign nation that is a participating member in our global community, affiliated by the world bank and ims. a country in transition thanks to the efforts of the ambassador, president guhany and others, working together in harmony towards a common goal. the transition of a country that has known too much violence, conflict, and separation. to be embraced by the world community as a peaceful, emerging leader for its region in the world, diplomatic, and global community. afghanistan got independence

from britain in 1919. timing is everything, ambassador. first diplomatic ties to the united states in 1921 and that relationship has been maintained to the present day. the population now is almost 32 million, 50% under the age of 18, 27% of its population live in urban areas. two official languages. afghanistan is a land linked nation. it is almost as big as the state of texas. i don't know if that is a backhanded compliment or not but it is a compliment. education is critical to the population.

unless they treat equal access to young men and women to education and the future of afghanistan will not be as bright as everybody in the world community wants it to be. the u.s. and afghanistan signed a ten year partnership that reflects the shared commitment to combating terrorism and promoting peace, democratic values and economic opportunity in afghanistan and the region. now at 200,000 strong, the afghan armed forces are drawn throughout afghanistan, protecting and helping to

develop the new afghanistan. numerous challenges along the way, daish threatens to supersede al-qaeda an an internal security threat. afghan patient for economic development and employment are not truly excited about the current prospects. opium cultivation remains a vital income source in rural areas threatening national policies of eradication and differences in party affilation, electoral reform hurts the communities. the task of rebuilding afghanistan is challenging but through the efforts of individuals afghanistan has made strides toward being more prosperous, stable and peaceful nation.

saturday, i think the prospects of peace were enhanced. i hope the reports are true and mansour was killed. i hope that whoever replaces him will see that there is a path to the future that should not involve conflict. secondary enrollment in afghanistan schools has increased from one million boys in 2002 to eight million boys and girls to date. that is a phenomenal achievement and augers well for the future. the national action plan on women security will align afghanistan with international accords and promote article 22 of the afghanistan constitution where the citizens of

afghanistan, man and women, have equal rights and duties before the law. and finally, the jobs for peace program seeks to stem people leaving for europe and reunite the afghanistans in a collaborative effort to rebuild our nation -- afghanistan's. ambassador, who i have known and follows, has impressed be greatly. he is a man of honor and soft diplomacy in terms of appealing to hearts and minds, educating people to the new afghanistan. he served as ambassador to the

united states since september 2015 prev previously was deputy chief of staff to the afghan president. he founded a think tank and initiated multiple community service programs for women and is about to become a dad. this is good. moderator the discussion today is ambassador ron newman. a fellow with a rye sense of humor. there are only two ambassador's families in the history of u.s. diplomacy where a son has

followed a father in their diplomatic posting. so we have here tonight one of those individuals because the first one's name was adam a long time ago. ambassador newman and i are friend, professional colleagues, and we share the same space and the same point in space in time in terms of our commitment to doing anything we can to mobilize whatever networks we have that we can in support of your nation's quest for long-term piece and economic development on success in the global community. so i am very honored to ask two ambassadors to come to our table tonight. but before i do so, i want to thank the ronald reagan building, the international trade center, for their kindness

in being our strategic partner in terms of the work that we do through our public programs. i also want to thank ms. stephanie fles fesler, the director of international affairs, and kristen roach, our director of communication, and the interns who work with us for their commitment to our cause. so, please give a very loud, stomp your feet and clap your hands, welcome to ambassador mohib and ambassador newman. [applause] >> i guess ambassador newman will have something to say about that. i have been called many things.

i have had my name carried in the street in protest but rascal is new. thank you, i think, tony for that introduction. it is a privilege to be here with you. >> it is a pleasure to be here. thank you to the world affairs council. to be here, i met some members at our embassy, we had had honor of hosting one of the events. it was a great experience. we decided to do it twice. >> it is an interesting evening and interesting days in the news. before we go to the hard stuff, which i am sure will occupy most of the evening, the size of the youth population was mentioned and a great deal of the hope of